Frisco Last Day

Today it was decided we would go out for breakfast.  A favorite Frisco eatery is the Butterhorn Bakery.  My husband and I have been stopping here for many years on trips to Frisco.  We would get up early and walk to Main Street and grab a coffee and roll to share while others were still in bed.  However, this is the first time we have actually sat down to eat.  I indulged in a sticky bun which I am sure had over 1,000 calories.  Not good for one who has been counting calories for years.  Oh well, what are vacations for.

It was a lazy morning with families beginning to get organized for the trip home.  For the second time we ate lunch at the house.  We did have some lunch food plus trying to get rid of all the left overs before heading out in the morning.

We then headed over to Copper Mountain to ride American Eagle ski lift to the top of the mountain.  Then were taking a very short hike on Hallelujah trail before taking the lift back down the mountain.  My family was so afraid that I was going to fall over rocks that my son got right behind me.  I think he felt like he would break my fall.  If I had fallen, I am sure he would have gone right down with me.  It was nice to feel concern from the family although they must think I am really uncoordinated.  After 1/8 of a mile up the mountain, we heard thunder.  We turned around and scurried back to the lift to head back down.  

We returned to the house for the final meal.  We ordered carry out from Backcountry Brewpub and Pizzeria.  Food was well packed and easy to distribute appropriately not to mention quite tasty.  We took one last stroll to nearby Walter Bryon Park.  Then it was back to the house to pack vehicles for the trip home.

We had another great trip Cole family trip.  This one was a day longer than any of the others and I think all of us appreciated the extra time.  We were so glad my sister and husband joined us.  My oldest grandson was greatly missed.  Hopefully, all of us will be able to enjoy the 2015 Cole family trip.

My sister and husband were not here for the final day in Frisco.  They left after their breakfast at the Butterhorn.  The families loaded their cars Friday evening.  We were all up and on the road by 6:30 am Colorado time.  We left last after going through the house to make sure all trash had been removed, windows locked, lights turned off, and no items left.

Our next trip will be in August.  See you then.

Frisco Bicycling

Today those under 40 decided to rent bicycles.  They rented the bikes for 24 hours which included a Vail Pass shuttle.  That made the ride downhill back to the house.  The trail took them through the Copper Mountain village.  At dinner we have had everyone tell their favorite thing for the day.  My son mentioned that this was probably going to be the highlight of the trip for him.  They used the bikes to also ride over to the Frisco Fun Place which is an awesome playground near the elementary school.

 

Right before supper the 4 and 7 year olds were getting a little too active for us.  My sister and husband suggested we go on a Geocache mission.  It was a great way to have constructive active until we ate supper which was deliciously prepared by the Cole Jrs.  Below are the children collecting their treasure from the Geocache.

Frisco Alpine slide day

When we come to Frisco, which has been many times over the years, we always spend a day in Breckenridge riding the alpine.  Always a favorite with the children.  That includes the grown-up kids.  In the past, all that was available was the slide.  Now there is a Peak 8 Fun Park which includes the slide.  For the first time there is a gondola to carry us from main street to Peak 8.  The gondola was an extra free ride.  A new experience for every one of us.

After we finished at the fun park, took the gondola back down to main street for lunch.  I had been looking forward to eating at Bubba Gump's since being here two years ago.  My sister and husband ate with us.   The rest of the clan went to Downtown Eric's.  It was a great place for them.  They ate pizza, over 100 beers to choose from, and an 80's arcade.  Perfect!

All then shopped Main Street before heading back to Frisco.  Davids were in charge of supper.  Delicious tacos.

First day in Frisco

We had a fun first day.  Tried to not make it very energetic as we are all adjusting to the altitude.  My skin and nose are getting that dry feeling.  (Guess there are some advantages to Kansas.)  Tuesday when we woke up it was 40.  Consequently, it was a bit cool on the water taxi we took across Lake Dillon.  We certainly didn't have enough clothing on for the 30 minute trip across the lake.  We were lucky they were just getting ready to stock the lake with some trout.  It was fun to watch them dump over 2000 fish.  Next the children enjoyed some time at the playground near the dock.  When done playing, we wandered uptown to find a local eatery, Pug Ryan's.  Back to the dock to catch the water taxi back to Frisco.  What we thought was going to be a lazy day turned out to be very filled.  All of us were ready to sit down for awhile to catch our breath.  It was my turn to fix supper.  Finished the day with a short walk downtown before hitting the sack.

Frisco Rental House

We arrived in Frisco about 4 pm yesterday.  Things had been a little crazy on the way out.  Basically because I am female and had to get excited about things.  Once in the house, I just calmed down and let everybody else take care of things.

Hannah did the grocery shopping for us and my sister, Penny, took care of our first evening meal.  I want to mention the house.  It is absolutely outstanding.  I am so glad we chose this VRBO rental.  We have only been here one night but would suggest this home to those of you with large groups.  It has 7 bedrooms which includes a bunk room that could accomodate 5.  I am including a link so check it out.

http://www.vrbo.com/162149

Welcome to Beautiful Colorado

If you look very, very carefully, you will see the welcome to Colorado sign.  Husband was in charge of taking photo.

They fit

Don't know if I will have any room to purchase souvenirs or not.

Will they all fit?

The luggage compartment of the 370Z is really small.  Not sure we can get them all in.

Organizing glove box

I decided it was time to get the car organized for this trip.  Will I able to get in everything?  Not near as much room in this vehicle as the previous one.  I wanted the map, Trip Tik, and Colorado tour book to be in the glove compartment.  Along with those items, the navigation system manual.  I must admit that this navigation system is much more complicated than our Garmin GPS.  Of course, it does much more.  Thus manual needed close by.  The glove compartment closed.  Success.  Next question,  will we be able to get in the luggage, etc.  Keep you posted.

Triple A

Because we are going to start traveling more, I thought maybe a membership to Triple A might be beneficial. I sure hope we never have to use it because the car has a breakdown or a flat tire. I was surprised to see the different levels of membership. We chose to use Classic, the lowest option. We can only be towed 5 miles without having to pay. I was surprised at that. That isn't even across town. AAA will change a battery, replace a battery for the price of the battery, and bring fuel (also have to pay for). I thought those items might be handy. The real reason I wanted to join is for their famous Trip Tiks. We have prepared for two trips we are making this summer. The first being to Frisco, Colorado. The second to Door County, Wisconsin, via Antioch, Illinois. The Trip Tiks are very impressive. They give you turn by turn maps. We also received maps of the states we will be visiting. For the Wisconsin trip, two maps of the central United States. One had our route marked. I loved that. We will see how useful these are after the first couple of trips.

Preparing for first trip

We will be leaving on our first road trip on June 24.  Heading to Frisco, Colorado.  This is a family affair as our entire family will be there.  Children, their spouses, and their children.  My sister and husband will be joining us there.

To get prepared for this trip and the trips to come, we purchased a new sports car.  A 2013 Nissan 370Z Touring.  Just two seats so nobody will be able to ride with us.  I am a little unsure about this feature but I do believe it will work without issues.  We actually took our two small suitcases to the Nissan dealer to see if they would fit.  Thank goodness, they did.  I then decided I wanted to take a small cooler with some frozen meat I had prepared for this trip.  Well, guess what?  The small cooler we own was too big.  Hit WalMart.  Sure enough Coleman makes a very small cloth cooler.  Perfect size to fit behind my seat.  It then dawned on my husband that he needed to bring along a few items to keep the vehicle sparkling.  Can't let those bugs stay on the front for any period of time.  We purchased the exact cooler for him to store his car paraphernalia.  Actually, because it is waterproof should one of his items spill it will only ruin the bag and not the car.  This car was a checkoff of my husband's bucket list.

Happy trails.